I don't know if retired lads pass through the same experience all over the world, but in my part of the world, being retired with the hope of living off your pension is hardly a good experience.
Most of those that planned to live off their pension are currently living below a reasonable standard because what they get as a pension is already ruined by inflation on one end and economic instability on the other end.
My Dad, for one, is a pensioner who served his country for 35 years, working day and night. After working for that long, you would expect him to relax and enjoy life after retirement, but that is not the case. What he gets as a pension can barely handle weekly expenses. Now, he's back in the workforce to earn additional quid.
Some other pensioners are being owed an accrued payment of 6 months and more. Some of them are facing wave after wave of poverty. It's distasteful to hear of what these people pass through.
Because of what I've seen about pensioners and the type of struggle they go through, I'm beginning to question if investing in pensions is a good idea.
Is it worth it?
This is an interesting discussion to be had because back in the day, one of the things people considered before choosing a career is usually their chances of getting a pension after retirement. That's why the banking sector, company jobs and jobs in government parastatals were attractive to so many people.
In case you are still in doubt, the pension you get is not a free gift from your former employer or the pension fund administrators (PFA) in your country. The money you earn as pension is yours and most of them were deducted from the salary you earned when you were active in the workforce.
If we face the facts, then... The previous generation saw pension as an investment, but the entire trajectory of how it is seen should be changed by people in this generation.
I don't like the idea of running pension like it's done in the past and present. It's kinda boring to 'invest' (for those who see it as an investment) like that. It's like 3 hours cooking for 5 minutes eating. Haha.
Imagine if whatever you carved out as a pension was used for proper Investment. Even if you invest that in your own business, whatever you get after a couple of years will be sustainable enough to get you through life after retirement. It gets even better when you consider the idea of pulling those funds into crypto.
Does it sound weird?
I'm thinking in that direction so I don't think it's weird. Instead of trusting my government or some pension scheme organization to pay me bits by bits after so many years of working, I've already made my choice to build my pension and pay myself when the time is right.
What about you?
Do you like the old-school pension style?
If not, how would you rather have it?
I've seen instances where the pension fund admins / government claimed to not have enough cash to pay pensioners. Whether that's true or not, it points to the fact that there will come a time when pensioners will have to accept that the fund has run dry. That's weird!
Thanks For Not Missing Any Full-stop Or Comma
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